


baby, i'm yours

by budd



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Boys In Love, Character Study, David Rose Deserves Nice Things, David Rose Loves Patrick Brewer, David Rose's Love Language is Touch, Declarations Of Love, Dialogue Light, Explicit Language, Flashbacks, How Many David Tags Can a Single Person Add?, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Introspection, M/M, Not Beta Read, POV David Rose, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28656918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/budd/pseuds/budd
Summary: David Rose was never one to appreciate physical contact, but all it took was a simple handshake for him to be thrown under and completely lost in Patrick Brewer, a business major who wears straight-legged, mid-range denim.
Relationships: Mentions of Sebastien Raine/David Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	baby, i'm yours

**Author's Note:**

> i have done a lot of pieces (okay, maybe not a _lot_... definitely a handful, though) of david's introspection whether that be pre-relationship or not, but i've never done a full character study. since i enjoy reading them so much, i thought it was my time to crank one out so, here we are. 
> 
> also, i am 99% sure i didn't word that first sentence correctly, so hopefully y'all get the gist of what i'm trying to say here 😂 
> 
> this isn't beta'd either meaning all mistakes are my own!

David was never worried about Patrick. Well, he was fucking _terrified_. His worry wasn't because of Patrick himself, though. 

He was nervous to fall for someone again. To be dragged under by a simple handshake, a greeting that's been used since the 5th century, was _terrifying_ for David. 

He'd fallen before, sure. He'd fallen for several people. At least, at the time, he thought he fell. It wasn't until the business major with straight-legged, mid-range denim cladding his tree trunk-esque legs shook his hand—firmly, but not hard enough to catch him off guard—that he knew what it _truly_ felt like to fall for someone, to be tossed down the Grand Canyon like it was nothing or forced against your will to skydive. That's what he compared falling for Patrick to. Looking back, the people he'd "fallen" for in the past was the equivalent to taking a tumble off your cousin's scooter after hitting a rock at the end of their driveway: yeah, it hurt, but when it comes to love, there isn't too much that _doesn't_ hurt. 

Before Patrick, David thought it was _supposed_ to hurt to love someone. He thought that's why you loved them, because they'd broken you time and time again while constantly beating you down and reminding you of how worthless you are, but they're good in bed at the end of the day. He didn't know any better than to assume love (on a romantic level, of course) went no deeper than blowjobs and penetration.

He didn't know any better than to assume love was painful because prior to his business partner turned boyfriend, he didn't know anything _but_ pain. He was used to it. He was used to being taken advantage of. He was used to being pinned down to a mattress in an unfamiliar room he'd never lay eyes on again against his will. He was used to verbal testaments proclaiming how babyish he is due to his constant need to complain about something, _anything_ at all. He was used to being punched on the arm or smacked in the face and being told afterward it was to "extenuate their sarcasm" (that was Sebastien's favorite excuse for hitting David when he wouldn't pay attention to him, but he's convinced he's heard them all). 

Loving Patrick isn't about the sex. It is about the intimacy of _caring_ about someone, wanting someone enough to put yourself in an emotionally vulnerable place where you could potentially hurt yourself because you want them to be happy. It is about _respecting_ someone regardless of their past. It is about _teaching_ someone to be their authentic self even when it feels impossible for them to be anything outside of the version of themselves they were before meeting you. 

So, when handshakes turned to a brush of Patrick's hands against his shoulders as he scooted past to make his way into Rose Apothecary's stockroom and casual fingertip-induced goosebumps turned to holding Patrick with his arms wrapped around his neck and his hands setting upon his hips, to say David felt safe would be an understatement. 

He is _secure_ in the presence of Patrick. Someone trusting him enough to engage in all these casual touches made David's heart do back flips considering the closest he'd gotten to that previously was Sebastien eyeing him from across the room when his towel fell off after a shower, raising an eyebrow and licking his lips in the process. 

He knew Patrick was there to protecthim, protect him from _himself_. To protect him from the constant self-loathing that went on in his brain and often came out of his mouth in the process of thinking. To protect him from the seemingly nonstop panic swirling around him like a chocolate-vanilla cone from Dairy Queen. To protect him from worrying about losing Patrick, something he was scared would inevitably be happen since the first day he laid eyes on him at Ray's. While Patrick would never be able to halt the thoughts, he could soothe David through them. Whether it be a quick peck to the back of his palm or spooning in bed, Patrick always knows _exactly_ what David needs and how one person knows so much about him astounds him every single time. 

David loves Patrick. He's loved Patrick since the night he sang _The Best_ to him. Was it horrid, the prospect of somebody singing to _you_ in _your_ store in front of _other_ people? Yes, and David was fidgeting until the moment the first note emitted itself from Patrick's gorgeous, soft pink lips. The second David realized how talented Patrick is, all thoughts involving leaving him were chucked out of the window at full speed. 

He was practically overflowing like a cup left underneath a refrigerator water dispenser for a beat too long, overflowing with admiration. Admiration for the man who was willing to play an _instrument_ for him, and not just for him, for a crowd of patrons, too. Admiration for the man who put himself on display—every _inch_ of himself—for _David_. 

He wants to show Patrick all of him, too. He'd physically seen each crevasse and every hair already, but emotionally he was still very reserved. He liked keeping himself hidden; guarding his emotions is all David's done. 

This is different, though.

_Patrick_ is different and David wanted—no, _needed_ —to keep him in his life for as long as possible and he knows he'll have to come out of his shell (how quickly, or lack thereof, he emerges is irrelevant) in order that make that happen for him. For _them_. 

David slowly, but surely, drops hints to Patrick that he wants him to stay, that he's in this for the long haul. 

_We've sat in these booths how many times? Neither of us has died from food poisoning yet._

_Here's to many more late night Julie Stiles marathons to come!_

_Another anniversary for us to celebrate; the night you made me dinner for the first time._

_Are you going to spend_ every _lunch break making spreadsheets?_

He is. He doesn't know how long he's gong to be with Patrick, that was going to be up to him and when he decides its finally time to cut him loose.

Everyone has, so why would Patrick be different?

Deep down in his heart, David knows he isn't going anywhere, but there's something about the stability of every relationship ending the same way that he wanted it to continue.

The cycle went the same way every single time: his partner asking to _see other people_ and coming back to his apartment or... wherever he was staying two weeks later to dump him for real. Then, David would sulk. He'd mope around in his bed, refusing to get up unless it was to refill his stash of Doritos and other various forms of cheese from Cheez-Its to Keebler sandwich crackers, and everything in between. Eventually, Alexis would storm in a few days after to scold him for "throwing his life away". 

Except, it never happened. 

Patrick never left.

And it wasn't until the day he said _I love you_ that David discerned Patrick would stay.

David had never had those three words directed at him. Ever. He'd thought about saying them to past partners, but that was before Patrick and the revelation of _true_ love. 

So why was it so hard to repeat it back?

It was overwhelming. He'd been aware of the fact that he felt something deeper and stronger for _weeks_ since the Apothecary's first open mic night, but knowing that his feelings were reciprocated made it a hundred times harder to blurt it out because he didn't have to worry about falling back into his seemingly unavoidable post-relationship turmoil. David had a difficult time comprehending the fact that he'd experienced his last week of eating-a-whole-bag-of-Cheetos-while-watching-Sandra-Bullock's-entire-filmography-on-repeat.

Maybe David would've savoured it more if he knew it'd be the last time. 

Being dumped on so many _fucking_ occasions is something that'd set any stable person off. David Rose wasn't stable, though. He never was stable and never would be stable no matter how much Patrick Brewer he had in his life.

Sometimes, David feels like his brain was wired differently. He's never bothered getting a professional diagnosis out of a lack of desire to tell _another_ person about his problems as the therapy his parents forced him through was enough, but it was obvious something wasn't rigged correctly not just to David, but to everyone else he'd ever came in contact with. 

He was a naturally anxiety-ridden person; David's legs were outwardly shaking what felt like every second and twiddling his rings placed perfectly across his tan fingers was an hourly affair. He can't remember a time where this _wasn't_ accurate.

It felt deeper than anxiety though, like there was something wrong with him. 

Patrick was adamant on reminding David that nothing was _incorrect_ about him even if something is "wired improperly". In fact, he even offered to accompany him to a psychiatrist more than once in light of making him feel as comfortable as possible in the event he _does_ decide to get a proper diagnosis for whatever he... has. 

And, when David reminded himself of that as well as all of the other times Patrick had transparently shown him how much he cares about making sure he's as sheltered as humanly possible in his presence, _that's_ when he made the choice to say _I love you_ back to his boyfriend. 

Patrick's sentiments of dependability was David's new breakup song and boy, could he get used to that.

He _wanted_ to get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> this was only supposed to be around 500 words, but (clearly) that didn't last.
> 
> as always, i hope you enjoyed and comments/kudos are greatly appreciated <3
> 
> oh! and i've officially written 30k+ words in the last month which is absolutely insane. thank you guys for all of your sweet messages that encourage me to keep writing. here's to 30,000 more!
> 
> i'm on [tumblr](https://languageoflove.tumblr.com) as well, come chat about schitt's creek with me over there if you'd like :D


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